"The measures to limit new cars and optimize the car population are feasible to controlling pollutants," said Zang, who added that long-term regulations will be released in the coming months to ensure stricter monitoring and supervision, such as increasing the required frequency for car safety checks.
Beijing has almost 5 million cars on its roads, according to figures for last December, and to ease congestion authorities have imposed several policies, including a license plate system introduced in April 2009 that bans cars for one day a week.
Between 1999 and 2008, the capital also upgraded its emissions regulations from Euro I to Euro IV. The environmental protection bureau is working on upgrading the standard to Euro V by the end of 2012.
"The emissions from just one heavily polluting car roughly equates to 20 conventional cars," said He Kebin, a professor of environmental science and engineering at Tsinghua University.
The clear air plan, which is aimed at boosting the overall environmental quality, sets a target of 292 "blue-sky days" by 2015, up from 286 days last year.
Other projects include the construction of four electric heating plants to replace the current coal-burning facilities and the shutting down or relocation of heavy-polluting enterprises.
Dongcheng and Xicheng districts will also be made dust pollution sample zones, while Beijing will work with neighbors Tianjin municipality and Hebei province to establish an air pollution prevention system.